Littelfuse, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the circuit protection business of TE Connectivity Ltd. for $350 million in cash. This business has a leading position in polymer-based resettable circuit protection devices with a strong global presence in the automotive, battery, industrial, communications and mobile computing markets. The business is headquartered in Menlo Park, California with manufacturing facilities in Shanghai and Kunshan, China and Tsukuba, Japan.
"This business is an excellent strategic fit with Littelfuse," said Gordon Hunter, CEO of Littelfuse. "It will expand our global circuit protection product portfolio as well as our presence in the automotive electronics and battery end markets. This business has a long history of technology innovation and new product development, and its synergies with our existing circuit protection business will drive deeper engagement with our customers and channel partners. The business will also significantly increase our presence in Japan and serve as a platform for future growth."
TE's CPD business, which is externally reported as part of the Data and Devices business within TE's Communications Solutions segment, has a broad presence serving the communications, mobile computing, industrial, automotive and battery industries.
"The sale of CPD is another step in our strategy to focus and expand our leadership position in harsh environment connectivity and sensor solutions," said TE Connectivity Chairman and CEO Tom Lynch. "We believe that our investment dollars are best used in harsh environment connectivity and sensor applications and the CPD business will be better positioned for continued success and growth with Littelfuse. We thank our CPD employees for their hard work and innovative contributions to TE over the years."
The TE circuit protection business had estimated revenue of $190 million in fiscal 2015 with an EBITDA margin of approximately 20%. The company expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to earnings excluding acquisition and integration related costs. The company expects cost synergies of at least $10 million annually starting in 2017.
